Google Takeout
The Google Takeout interface
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| Developer(s) | |
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| Development status | Active |
| Website | takeout |
Google Takeout (Google Takeaway in some languages) is a project by the Google Data Liberation Front[1] that allows users of Google products, such as YouTube and Gmail, to export their data to a downloadable ZIP file.
Contents
Usage[edit]
Users can select different services from the list of options provided. As of 24 March 2016[update], the services that can be exported are as follows:
- Google+ +1s, Circles, Pages, Streams and posts
- Chrome Sync bookmarks
- Google Calendar appointments
- Google Contacts
- Google Drive files
- Google Fit
- Google Photos
- Google Play Books metadata and notes
- Google Groups
- Google Hangouts
- Google Keep
- Google Location History
- Gmail data
- Google Maps My Maps, saved places and reviews
- Google Profile
- Google Voice billing history, greetings and voicemail recordings
- Google Wallet
- YouTube videos
The user can elect to export all of the available services or choose services from the above list. Takeout will then process the request and put all the files into a zip file. Takeout then optionally sends an email notification that the export is completed, at which point the user can download the archive from the downloads section of the website. The zip file contains a separate folder for each service that was selected for export. For Google+ Pages data, it will only allow you to export data from pages that you have created, not pages that you manage.
History[edit]
Google Takeout was created by the Google Data Liberation Front on June 28, 2011[1] to allow users to export their data from most of Google's services. Since its creation, Google has added several more services to Takeout due to popular demand from users.[citation needed]
Takeout started with exports of only Google Buzz, Google Contacts, Google Profile, Google Streams, and Picasa Albums.[1] The next month, on July 15, 2011, Google added the export of Google +1's to the list after it was frequently requested by Takeout's users.[2] Later in 2011 on September 6, Google added Google Voice to their export service.[3] A big milestone was the addition of YouTube video exports to Takeout next year on September 26, 2012.[4] Google took another big step with the addition of Blogger posts and Google+ pages on February 17, 2013.[5]
On December 5, 2013, Google Takeout was further expanded to include Gmail and Google Calendar data.[6]
Criticism[edit]
Earlier criticisms were raised that Google Takeout did not allow users to export from some core Google services, most notably Google Search history and Google Wallet details. Google has since expanded the services to include in Takeout: Search history and Wallet details (September 2016). Google has also added Google Hangouts to the Takeout service.[7] Google also does not delete user data after exporting.[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "The Data Liberation Front Delivers Google Takeout". Google. June 28, 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ Crum, Chris (July 15, 2011). "Google Adds +1s to Google Takeout". Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ "New on the Menu: Google Voice for Google Takeout". Google. September 6, 2011.
- ^ Lardinois, Frederic (26 September 2012). "Google Adds YouTube Support To Google Takeout, Now Lets You Download Your Original Video Files". Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- ^ Fingas, Jon (February 17, 2013). "Google Takeout now liberating Blogger and Google+ Pages". Engadget. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
- ^ Piepmeier, Nick. "Download a copy of your Gmail and Google Calendar data". Official Gmail Blog. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
- ^ Null, Christopher (May 21, 2012). "'Liberating' Your Data from Google, and What That Really Means". PCWorld. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
